The university economists said in their quarterly report that coastal counties have employment gains that have outpaced other parts of the nation, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

However, inland regions are showing little and sometimes negative growth.

In Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the unemployment rate was nearly 10 percent in October, compared with 7 percent in San Diego County and nearly 6 percent in Orange County.

UCLA economists say inland areas that typically rely on government and construction haven't found a new engine of growth.

They "have historically depended on sectors that have not been growing in this recovery . which means conditions of relative stagnation," said Jerry Nickelsburg, senior economist at the UCLA Anderson Forecast.

While home prices have recovered nicely in California, those who live in Riverside and San Bernardino counties have further to climb to get out of underwater mortgages. Nickelsburg said historical data from similar regions around the country indicate that inland California could take a decade or more to fully recover.

"The inland regions will remake themselves in some way, but it's not clear in what way and not clear how long it will take," he said.

UCLA economists expect the state economy to continue improving. The state unemployment rate, which stands at 8.7 percent, is expected to fall to 8.2 percent by the end of 2014. The jobless rate will fall even further to 7.3 percent by the end of 2015, they said.